It wouldn’t be wrong if we consider the current time as the electronic gadgets’ era. What once used to be a luxury are now necessities. We all are constantly tied with one or the other electronic gadgets particularly the smartphones. Children are no different either. Ever since the pandemic hit the world, children got more attached to gadgets. With them being confined at homes due to the lockdown and stay-at-home rules and with schools turning to online classes, it has become hard to separate the kids from smartphones and screens (tabs, computer, and TV). Their study, playtime, and recreational watching everything is either on smartphones or other screens. In such circumstances it is natural for your child to get addicted to smartphones. 

While the advent of technology and the online world has its own advantages, there are numerous disadvantages too. Too much screen time and addiction to gadgets can adversely affect the growth and development of your child. Moreover irresponsible use of smartphones and media can lead to some serious behavioral and harmful tendencies in children. 

Given below are some of the adverse effects of excessive screen time and smartphones use in children:

  • ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)
  • Depression
  • Problems of the nervous system
  • Sleep disturbances
  • Attention and hearing issues
  • Obesity
  • Daily in social development

It is necessary to prevent your child from getting addicted to smartphones. In this health article we discuss a few effective ways to stop smartphone addiction.

Set a time - Set a fixed time or hours where you allow your child to use smartphone.

Break reminder - Even after you have set some time or hours as a fixed time, ask your child to take breaks  between that fixed time. During the break encourage your child to move around, perform stretches, relax their eyes, and drink some water. Taking frequent breaks not only helps prevent the ill effects of prolonged sitting, but also help to deviate your child and break the continuity or mobile binge from whatever they were watching or playing.

Set priorities - Tell your kid that they may use the smartphone only after they complete priority tasks such as studying, homework, help parents with household chores, tidying up their room, etc.

Educate your child - Make sure you teach your child about responsible use of media and the idea of age appropriate content.

Family time - Make sure to bond with your child. Get creative, participate in their activities, make a craft or an art, ask your child to help in the chores. Talk to your child about the topics of their interest. Let them express and appreciate their advances, efforts, and opinions.

Limit the screen time - Do not let your child to extend their screen time with other gadgets such as tabs, computers, or TV.

Set some rules - Set some rules and make sure your child strictly follows the rules. Examples of a few rules - no phones during mealtime, no carrying phone to the bed, no phones after the fixed hours of the day, etc.

Supervise - Keep an eye on the types of content your child watches on smartphone. Set parental controls for inappropriate contents. Apart from the content, monitor your child’s posture, appropriate screen setting such as brightness and screen distance. And keep interacting with them.

Set passwords - It is practically impossible to be around your child all the time. Set passwords to prevent your child using the phones in your absence. Make sure you do not share the password with your child.

Avoid using smartphones as reward or distraction or as an emotional pacifier - Parents often tend to use gadgets to distract them during activities like traveling, feeding, or dressing to keep them calm. Parents also use the phones as emotional pacifiers. Such behavior negatively affects a child’s social development and social interaction skills.

Always encourage face-to-face interaction - Never let your child respond to you or any others while facing their screen, or continue using the phone when a person is trying to talk to them. Educate your child to keep the phone down for the entire length of the communication and also instruct them to not keep checking their phone for notifications and messages during a communication.

Encourage physical activities - Being physically active is very important for your child’s growth and development. Indulge your child in fun activities and encourage them to play outdoors. 

Be an example through your actions - Children often learn from imitation. They tend to pick on their parents' actions. Follow everything that you teach your child. Do not break the rules yourself and expect your child to listen to you.

Take home message - Smartphones are both boon and bane. It is important to teach your child that smartphones can be educational when used responsibly and detrimental if negligent. While the child learns to adapt to responsible use of smartphones it is important that you as a parent, supervise and guide your child.

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